Breaking Point
by instantlunch5
Summary: Link awakens in a dark future, and with a burden he doesn't want. Now destiny puts the only people he does care about in danger, as they suffer it fuels the fire that drives Link. There is only so much he can take before he breaks though.
1. Awakening

I don't own zelda

As the blue light that had engulfed the hero seven years ago faded his figure became steadily more visible. He appeared just short of two meters tall even with his green cap. His kokiri tunic had also changed to accommodate his new size; it would most likely be the first and last adult size outfit of the Kokiri, since it was a race of children. Still, though, it was the exact shade of the leaves in the trees and one could easily hide amongst them in the tunic. Under the tunic itself was an extra layer of white fabric that trapped the cool air in and let hot air out. He also had some leather gloves and boots on that look like they had never been used. His hair appeared smooth to the touch and was a rich healthy golden color. It had not grown much over the years and maybe reached down to his collarbone, but who knew how much more was under his hat. His eyes were deep pools of azure and one could easily lose themselves in them just from a brief glance. Then the face itself seemed chiseled and hardened as if the hero had experienced years of fighting. In each long pointed ear was an earring that was as blue as his eyes, and appeared to be of high quality. His body alone looked to be in peak condition as if he had endured long periods of intense physical training.

"Link it has been too long since you last let your eyes sweep the land of Hyrule." Sheik said.

A confused Link struggled to his feet, and attempted to focus his vision while trying to stop the spinning sensation in his head. He felt more ill the more he stood up, and as he was about to fully rise he fell to his knees, while emptying the contents of his stomach. The small pain it brought was a relief since it also helped to clear his head. He shifted one of his legs so that he could be in a kneeling position and observed his surroundings.

The chamber which held the Master sword looked the same, yet he himself felt different. The marble stones were still the same pure white from when he had blacked out right after the ring of blue light engulfed him. Although, the sense of peace and security had left the atmosphere and was replaced by a feeling of fear and weakening that made him want to curl up and hide. He looked to the windows that were high up on the walls and expected to see the sun illuminating the room with its brilliant rays. Instead, to his horror, it was a ruby red ring of fire encircling the mouth of, the already ominous and forbidding, Death Mountain.

"LINK!!!" shouted an exasperated Sheik.

The young man turned his head to the sheikah, startled at the sudden outburst while observing his surroundings. Sheik shifted his weight to his left leg and folded his arms across his chest to show his annoyance. He thought carefully of how to explain to the Hero of Time what has happened over the past seven years since his sudden disappearance.

Finally after scratching his head and sighing Sheik began. "I am Sheik of the Sheikah. I'm sure you have questions right now but please wait and let me explain first. Since you pulled the sword that you have sheathed on your back seven years have past. If the Sage of Light hasn't told you already, then, the world is in utter turmoil and chaos." Sheik paused and observed his reaction.

It was almost painful to watch as he observed the hero begin to recall the information he had been told in the Chamber of Sages. He visibly got paler and began to sweat; his eyes seemed to dilate as he thought more and more. He was most likely thinking of the burden that had been passed to him at this point, and fear was written all across his face. He looked to the sword on his back and probably for the first time realized he had changed, as he let out a panic stricken yell. Scanning himself up and down he finally looked to me for help; and yet all I could do was look him in his begging eyes and stare back emotionlessly. When he realized that I would not console him his eyes darted between the sword and the pedestal. My eyes widened in realization of what he had planned and if he succeeded nothing good would come of it.

"Oh goddesses I have to get out of here!" Link said as he turn and ran for the pedestal. He had remembered everything Rauru had told him, and the thought of all that made him shake with complete and raw fear. He had told the damn sage that he wanted no part of the legend and just wanted to save what was dear to him. The only things he held dear were the forest and his friends in the forest. The outside world had been cruel to him; he had told soldiers and other grown ups about the quest and how they should do it instead of him. The ignorant citizens of Hyrule had just ignored him or asked him to take on the quest for them, a freaking 10 year old for crying out loud. He had had his share of horrors in the Deku tree much less in a lava filled cave, and a giant vulgar fish's insides.

He didn't make it two steps, though, before a leg swept his feet out from under him. He fell and landed on his stomach and felt someone take hold of his hands and pull, while applying their foot to his back and push. Needless to say he was pinned and in pain as he felt his shoulders begin to ache from the stress of the awkward position.

"Link, you need to calm down and think straight, dammit!" Sheik yelled "If you don't then I'll break both your arms so you can't put the sword back in the pedestal."

Link couldn't take much more of the pain and finally caved to it. "Aaaarrrggh!! Fine. Just get off."

Sheik nimbly jumped off his back while positioning himself in between Link and the pedestal, incase he should try again.

Link, once again, rose to his feet while attempting to massage the pain in his shoulders away. He was still panicky and jittery, but had calmed down some to try and think things threw. For the first time he took the time to study Sheik as opposed to his initial fear stricken state where nothing really clicked.

Sheik was garbed in a skin tight body suit from head to toe, and it had varying hues of blue on it. His skin seemed to be a darker shade than what he regularly saw especially for a sheikah that supposedly spent most there time in the shadows. His face was wrapped in a cowl, and his head appeared to have bandages on it to tame his wild hair. The hair itself appeared to be a dirty blonde color, and seemed like it defied gravity where it rose and then dipped at sharp angles. His eyes were a deep fierce red, and Link felt that if Sheik wanted he could set him ablaze with them. The most noticeable thing though was the large weeping eye insignia centered on the chest. He didn't know what it meant, but he was sure that its meaning went deeper than just crying.

"Link, will you here me out this time?" Sheik asked snapping him out of his thoughts.

"Su…su…sure." Link replied.

"Alright then. You probably know that Ganondorf has taken over Hyrule with his piece of the Triforce, which is the triforce of power. The Hero of Time is said to have the triforce of courage which is embedded on your left hand Link."

Link didn't have to look to know what Sheik was talking about since he could feel it burning, and had had the mark since he could remember. The princess of Hyrule had said the mark would be a blessing for him, but so far it had been a damn curse. It had taken him away from his home, his friends, and even Saria.

That thought sent a sudden urge through him to try and make contact with her through the ocarina she had given him. The fear and tension he felt was replaced by a sense of urgency and eagerness. He held off the urge though since he figured he needed to give Sheik his attention for now.

Sheik continued, "It is destined that you will awaken the sages and slay Ganondorf to return order to the land of Hyrule. When you leave the temple of time soon you'll realize the state of things. No place has gone unaffected, Link, even the Kokiri forest has felt Ganondorf's wrath."

Link winced at the piece of information and nodded. As Sheik observed this he noticed a change in the hero. For the split second during the nod that Link's eyes had disappeared from Sheik's view, they had changed. They had almost gone instantly from fearful and urgent to full of resolve, and a dangerous gleam filled with fury. At the mention of the forest in danger his heroic nature had been stirred. With the sudden change in mood also came a sudden change in the atmosphere, Sheik could sense danger, and all of it was pointed toward Link. He knew he had better wrap this up and let him be on his way otherwise he would not be so lucky in taking Link down again.

"I can tell you'll try the forest first, but just so you know they suffered the least of Ganondorf's wrath being the farthest away from him. Also the forest temple is located in the lost woods, but the stairs that you use to enter the temple have collapsed. In the graveyard of Kakariko village there is said to be a spirit that has a device that could aid you in gaining entrance to the temple and your quest. Also I" Sheik didn't get to finish as Link yelled out.

"Enough! I'm tired of your talking I'll go get the damn device, save my friends, and then the temple. Now shut up I'm going." And with that Link ran out the temple doors.

Sheik was still wide eyed from the outburst when he left through the temple doors and closed them. Finally after the shock had disappeared he whispered, "I was going to teach you the Minuet of Forest you asshole, but if you wanna do things the long way fine."

Link ran out the temple doors into the open air of the demolished Hyrule market. He took it all in, in a single glance. The place reeked of death; nothing was alive, not even weeds were around. The houses he could see were burned in many places, and rotting and burned wood was abundant. Corpses fresh and old where sporadically scattered throughout the streets, and the atmosphere was cold and clammy as if the life had been sucked out of the air also. Many of the corpses were just skeletal remains, but some still had chunks of meat and let off a horrible stench. One body looked particularly fresh; it lay only about ten yards to his left.

The remains weren't that of a human, but a lizalfos it seemed, although the effect was the exact same as if it had been human. It struck fear into him and sent him the message that no one was spared. The lizalfos had been cleaved from its right shoulder all the way down to the center of its waist. The weapon had been removed, and everything inside that wasn't connected to something to hold it inside the carcass had fallen out. The corpse was also impaled through the neck right into the wood of a shop on the other side with a bastard sword. This had served two purposes: to let the corpse bleed out, and to suspend it about a foot off the ground. The remains were just starting to get infested with maggots, and some were even basking in the coagulated puddle of blood at Link's feet. The face didn't look in good shape either; the left side looked like it had been bitten off, but not clean through more like torn off with force. The remaining eye was glazed over and glassy void of all life, and held an eerie reflection of Link in it.

Link averted his gaze after a while no longer able to stand the sight of the carcass. Instead he looked at the ring of intense flames above Death Mountain. When he had first looked at it he had thought it was a large solid swirl of red fire, but upon closer inspection he realized there was a crimson ring, that sparked a surge of anger in him for some reason, surrounding a white blaze. The flames seemed to spin endlessly, and they even appeared as sharp as a blades tip.

A sudden stirring came from under his hat that snapped him back to reality. A glowing blue ball of light emerged from his cap and floated in the air taking in the new environment. Link looked at the ball of light and thought of how out of place it was with the surrounding environment. Link loved his fairy and it had brought him happiness to get one, and it continued too throughout his quest. To him it was a sign of joy and rapture, but even the light blue aura it released could not counter the affects of death and misery in the area.

His fairy Navi was given to him at the age of ten, much later than any other child, and since then he had been on this damned quest. Navi had proven to be a much needed mental crutch for him though, she had given him small hints with puzzles in the dungeons he had visited, and was someone to talk to. Although he did talk with Saria through the ocarinas, a lot too, he couldn't hold the mental connection very long since it was so taxing. He made sure to talk with Saria everyday though while he was away, and today wouldn't be different, he just hoped she would forgive him though for being away so long.

Navi turned around and he got a better look at her new features. Like most fairies when she had arrived at his house she had rounded wing tips and a glow that hid the features of the fairy from everyone except: the kokiri partner, other fairies, and the Deku tree. Of course, they could also reveal themselves to whoever they wanted to also. Navi's appearance had changed though, her wings were more jagged, and took on a crystalline structure, giving the impression that the frail, nearly transparent, wings could easily pierce skin. Also her glow had gone from a light blue to a slightly deeper shade, like the blue of the water in Lake Hylia. For a fairy to grow was not a common occurrence though, either time did it or exposure to very powerful magic did it. Navi's blue hair had grown much longer also, now reaching down to right above her butt, when before it was just past her shoulders. Her figure had also drastically changed she had lithe smooth looking legs, some dangerous curves, and a lovely youthful face. By all means attractive to anyone except a kokiri who look to there partners for help and advice, not eye candy. Finally she was wearing a regular blue dress for female fairies that covered the body from neck to right above the knees, and showed a little back.

She began to whisper, "Everything that old man said is true." Navi visibly shook with anger, "Link we need to hurry home NOW!!!"

"I know Navi, but lets get out of here first and then let me contact Saria, and we can be on our way." He replied as calmly as he could.

"Right. This place is smothered with evil magic and tortured souls. Be ready though since we don't know what is around the corner."

Link nodded and drew his sword and shield, and began making his way toward Hyrule field at a fast walk. With his senses on high alert he constantly stopped to listen for anything sneaking around.

Eventually, Link reached the town square and heard the moans of a creature he recognized all too well. The Redeads were abundant in the town square at least 40 were in Link's immediate view. Their very presence seemed to suck all hope and will power out of Link's body, and make him feel empty.

The closest one sensed Link and turned around to face him; this was how they got you in the paralyzing glare. You would be so absorbed in the horror of what your looking at you forget about the monster walking at you getting ready to suck the very life out of you. Link froze as he observed the details of the grotesque mask it wore, he had always wondered how they got it but didn't really care to find out. Next Link noticed the withered body the skin had rotted to a sickening brown color and released an odor to match. The ribcage was easily visible and the skin seemed to be pulled as tight as possible without breaking all over the things body. Link averted his eyes back to its face and looked into the abysses in the eye sockets. Through it he saw all the suffering the person had experienced.

From the brief glimpse he got the man had been a soldier with a wife and two young boys, but when the raid on the castle began his family was heartlessly slain. He stayed and fought for as long as he could; no longer taking any real value in his life and wanting to die fighting. Unfortunately he had been taken prisoner instead and tortured ruthlessly by Ganondorf for months on end. Eventually when he couldn't yell anymore after losing his voice from screaming in pain so much, he was left to die in the dungeon of the castle. His death was incredibly painful since many of the monsters fed on humans; he was devoured alive by a group of wolfos meant for just such jobs. Later he became this redead since his soul couldn't rest in peace.

"What in goddesses name are you doing Link, move?!" Navi shouted at her companion.

The redead was less than two yards away and Link wasn't coming out of this paralysis anytime soon. Navi decided she would have to lend him a hand and began gathering a little bit of magic in the palm of her hand. She kept an eye on the redead, but was not affected by its paralysis magic do to her surrounding aura which stopped weak magic spells like this one. Finally she aimed her palm at the earring in Link's left ear, and released an electrical shock that would be strong to wake Link from his deepest sleeps.

"Link, hurry and kill it before it gets you!" Navi shouted.

Link shook off the tingling sensation coursing through his body and tightened his grip on the sword. The redead had lowered itself to a crouching position and leapt at him with the intention of draining the life out of him. Link was ready though, and as the redead lunged at him he thrust his sword forward and split its head open. Black vile blood began spurting out, and the blood looked alive with its own evil intentions. With its dieing breathe the redead let out one more loud moan which caught the attention of the other redeads. Link quickly put his foot on the redead's corpse and withdrew his blade from its skull.

Link stared at the blade for a second wanting to admire the great design and craft of it again. He had studied the blade right before he pulled it out, and at the time he couldn't wait to put it to use, but now was different. The blood visibly evaporated off the blades surface until it was as pure and clean as when he first took it out of the pedestal.

Snapping out of his reverie Link turned his attention to rest of the redeads. He knew there was no way he could possibly fight all of them. The only way to hold them all at bay would be the Sun's Song, and he wasted no time sheathing his sword and shield, and reaching for the Fairy Ocarina that Saria had given him, but pulled out the Ocarina of Time. Shrugging it off he began to play the Sun's Song, and a ray of light from the heavens descended and bathed him in light through all the gloom. When he finished the song he noticed all the redeads were encased in a pale grey lining that held them in place.

Navi scanned the area for a quick way out, "Lets hurry Link they will only be like that for about a minute, and don't touch any incase it disrupts the spells on them." With that Navi flew over to Link and gently plopped herself on Link's hat.

Link began running and weaving through the maze of redeads toward the gate to the field. He stopped two more times to play the Sun's song, because he heard the moans of a redead, but other than that there where no problems escaping the place.

Getting out to the field was an immense relief to both Navi and Link, the fresh air was felt great in there lungs. The open fields allowed them to forget all the bad things for a while and remember the good. Yet it was short lived as a grey cloud formed out of nowhere in the sky over their heads, and the sky began to pour down heavy rains. Link started heading toward Kakariko village while Navi still sat comfortably on his head.

Just then Navi spoke up, "Link you know you have changed a lot and look much more grown up now. It seems you grow up to be a handsome man with a strong body."

Unsure of what to say Link said the first thing that came to mine "Thanks. You have changed a lot too though. You grow up to be more beautiful and stunning."

"Thanks Link."

"No problem Navi. I'm going to stop and try to get a hold of Saria right now, so why don't you hop off my head and get some exercise; it has been seven years since you had any."

Without a word Navi flew off his head and began to fly around doing circles and flips in the air to get the hang of her new body.

Meanwhile Link rummaged through his item bag to find the Fairy Ocarina. Finally after a few minutes he pulled it out and placed the Ocarina of Time in the bag. He knew if he called to Saria on any ocarina but the one she gave him she would be heartbroken.

Slowly he put his mouth to it and placed his fingers over the holes. He gave a test blow to see how all the notes sounded, and was relieved to find that the ocarina sounded as good as when he had first gotten it. Then he started to play Saria's song; he let his fingers do all the work as the notes came naturally, like squinting your eyes in the sunlight. He let the melody wash over him, and it brought back such great memories for him of Saria, the Deku tree, Mido… well some memories were better than others. Images of the forest began to come to his mind, and leaves raining down all around him. Finally he sensed Saria's mind and began to track it through the forest. He then established a connection with her in her secret place, or the sacred forest meadow. He couldn't wait to talk to her; she would be able to feel his joy through their link and he would be able to feel her emotions also. He knew no matter how long he was away she would be happy to hear from him. The answer he got though was far from what he expected.

"Link?! Thank Farore it is really you. Link please I need your help Ganondorf has come and defiled our village and the sanctity of the sacred meadow. He has captured me and I've been getting tortured for some time now, and I can't take much more. I have to hurry or I'll soon be discovered, I'm being held in the Forest temple. Please hurry Link I thought I could wait for you forever, but I won't last. I…aaarrgghh!!!" Saria yelled. With that the connection terminated and left a teary eyed Link with an emotionless face staring into space. Her pain was real and immense, fear was huge and almost palpable, her concern was true and justified, and her love was still there.

Just before Phantom Ganon had struck her with his large electric ball of energy Saria felt Link's emotions through the connection. Red hot anger and fury, pure raw hate, and fear for her that could match her own for him. There would be no mercy or quick end for Phantom Ganon, she knew this and smirked at him.

The specter looked down on her with curiosity since she had a smirk on her face. "I must be getting rusty if you're smiling like that Forest sage. From now on I won't hold back, you little bitch." He said to her as his face transformed into a sickening smile.

"You're as good as dead you sickening mass of filth. Link, the Hero of Time, is on his way to save me." She replied.

"Hahahaha. What can a weak human do against me? I brought down a sage without so much as breaking a sweat." He gloated.

Saria felt she was losing consciousness quickly and whispered something only she could hear, "You'll be surprised what Link will do for the ones he loves." With that all went black.


	2. Colors of a hero

I don't own Zelda

Link ran through the gates of Kakariko village leaving all who he passed dumbstruck. All the villagers saw was a green streak followed by a smaller blue one. The villagers watched as the streak ran toward the well, and then made a sharp right, and then they lost sight of it after it passed Anju's house. They chose not to follow it though since they assumed it was heading for the graveyard. No one had been to the graveyard since the late Danpe, and since his death many creatures had been lurking in the area.

Link hadn't stopped to take a break since he had started running over two hours ago, and it was beginning to its toll on him. Right after he had lost contact with Saria he went into a mad dash toward the village. Navi had been taken by such surprise she didn't catch up until he had reached the stairs to the village. At that time he filled her in as he ran, and even the calm Navi's aura fluctuated with ripples of anger.

The village was a shadow of its former self, and had been run down to be a depressing sight. The house with the cursed family had definitely seen better days with visible holes in the roof and all the windows were broken. Anju's chicken pen had broken and it looked like no one had ever bothered to fix it. The well was also drained of the water, and as Link passed it he got a very uneasy feeling.

The people looked even more crestfallen than the village as they seemed to be on there last legs. They all looked immensely tired, and none really reacted much to his and Navi's presence. They didn't even try to stop him or greet him a ridiculous amount like the first time he came here.

Upon entering the graveyard Link and Navi noticed a big change. The graveyard had grown in size and occupants. Most appeared to be tombstones with no bodies, most likely memorials to the soldiers who fell in the fight against Ganondorf, and had nobody to bury. Other graves looked disturbed as if the corpse had risen and had walked about, and even more had the evil aura of a poe.

"Navi, you're much better at sensing spirits right?" Link asked.

"By a long shot; you shouldn't even have to ask. I already know what you're thinking though so I'll get right on it." Navi boasted

Navi went to work searching for any auras among the graves that were similar to the late Danpe. Some 300 or so graves later they came up with four graves. Link nodded his thanks to Navi as she flew under his hat to take a break.

Link picked one of the random four graves that she had pointed out, and positioned himself behind the tombstone. He grasped both sides of the tombstone and with a great heave he began to pull. The strain was huge and so he tried to let most of his legs do the work. Little by little the stone was moving but it was training his strength very quickly, but he kept pulling until it wouldn't budge at all.

Link peered down into the hole and couldn't see the bottom at all. Contemplating whether to jump in or not he paused to look for any sign of movement below. Again he looked into the hole and saw a faint glow of pink, and with that jumped down.

Now having a reason to be in the hole Link looked around. Most everything was too dark to see and for some strange reason there was no strange odor like he expected in a grave. He began to wander forward slowly toward a small glow in the distance. Upon getting a closer inspection he realized it was a very fountain.

Letting out a disappointed sigh he wandered into the center and let a fairy revitalize him. As the fairy finished it hovered down to the floor to rest having now taken all his fatigue for itself. Mouthing words of thanks to the fairy Link left exited the way he had come in.

He could see the sun setting and could already sense the spirits of the dead begin to stir. Not wanting to have to deal with the undead spirits while trying to move to the tombstones he hurried to the next one. Again he placed himself behind the tombstone and took hold of it, and pulled.

Poes were awaking in the area and the dirt was beginning to shift in some of the graves as Link finally stopped pulling. Without hesitation ran and jumped down into the hole, and lifted on an aged white platform. As he looked around the area it was once again too dark to see anything, but this time there was no light in the far off distance.

Suddenly a faint glow appeared in front of him and let off a low laugh before materializing into a ghost. Link reached for his sword and shield and had them at the ready. He studied the ghost; it appeared to be a bluish tint with a pale aura. The ghost was bald and had a disturbing looking protrusion in its back. It held a lantern in one hand, and the other hung down lazily.

"Whoa there, what the hell do you plan on doing boy? If you haven't noticed I'm a ghost and can't be hurt by common weapons boy." The ghost explained.

"Are you the ghost of the late Danpe?" Link asked.

"Yes I am boy. Have you come to put my spirit to rest? Figures those cowardly villagers wouldn't do it themselves."

Link became overcome with joy since he knew that Danpe would have whatever he needed to get into the Forest temple. "No, I have not come to put your spirit to rest. I actually have another request. If you have an object that I need if you would give it to me I would appreciate it."

"Hahaha. I assume you are talking about the hookshot in my possession, but if you want it you'll have to play a little game with me."

In a flash Link was face to face with Danpe with his sword to his transparent neck. An intense anger coursed through him that consumed almost all rational thought. His eyes looked like they could pierce the hardest of metals, and rip through any substance.

"Listen you damn ghost! I wasn't asking you for the hookshot I was telling you to give it to me. While you wait down here free from the pain of living we, the living, are still suffering. Now if you don't give me the hookshot I won't have any problem carving you to pieces until I find it." Link yelled.

Danpe's eyes went cold and in a voice void of emotion answered, "Boy I hold no value for the lives of living, because of that I was not able to pass on. I must wait for some one to send me off, and no one ever will because my hideous appearance frightens them. In life people looked down on me because of my disfigurement, and I came to resent them. Now what makes you think that I really care what you want, boy?"

Link chose not to answer with words at the moment, but instead shifted his sword to the man's ghostly shoulder. With a quick flick of the wrist he left a cut along his shoulder that began to release a bluish smoke.

"Aaagh. That hurt, but how, boy? It must be that sword you have; I can sense its power in the air." Danpe said surprised.

"Don't fuck with me dead man, now hand over the hookshot." Link replied in a low dangerous tone.

"I won't, not after you defile my grave and then attack me. I'll trap you in here so you die slowly and painfully."

With that the ghost levitated high into the air and began to hover off into a tunnel Link hadn't been able to see in the dark. Thanks to being the owner of the Triforce of courage Link was able to give chase after the ghost at an inhuman speed. He quickly passed into the tunnel and heard a heavy door fall into place behind him. Without looking back he followed after the glow of Danpe's lantern never letting it out of his sight.

The damn boy is chasing after me and actually able to keep pace. It doesn't really matter these tunnels are a maze, and the horrors in them can't affect me. He will die and I will continue my existence.

Link was steadily becoming aware of the undead beings and the resentful spirits in the tunnel, but he tried his best to ignore them. After ten minutes he was beginning to become infuriated with this chase, and pushed even harder to catch up to the ghost as it turned a corner. He was steadily closing the gap and was all too eager to bury his sword in Danpe's chest.

Looking back Danpe noticed how much closer Link had gotten and began to panic a little. In response he began to leave trails of fire in his wake. He was hoping it would slow the boy down, or it would be even better if he got burned. He liked that thought and started leaving fire everywhere in hopes of one of the flames consuming the boy.

As Link hurdled over walls of flames or weaved between them he started losing ground on Danpe. Luckily the flames provided an easy trail to follow, but he still couldn't trail too far behind otherwise the doors Danpe passed through would close behind him sealing Link in.

Link then turned a corner that led to a particularly long corridor and saw Danpe heading toward the end, and a redead with its back to him. Flames consumed all areas around the Redead making the only way forward through the redead. Unwilling to give in Link charged forward with no real plan in mind. Drawing nearer to the redead he knew he couldn't let it turn around otherwise he would be paralyzed and left to die in the tunnel.

As if on cue the redead let out a moan and began to slowly turn.

Everything ticked by in slow motion Link was running with his blade ready, but he knew there was no way he would reach the redead before it finished turning. He would be frozen and then die in these tunnels. He still hadn't thought of a way to stop it from turning, and then his thoughts drifted off to those who would be left to suffer.

The look of a strong resolve once again became visible through Link's eyes as he hurled the Master sword at the redead's back. It pierced through the withered skin at the top of its back and the redead crumbled to its knees while letting out a pained moan. Link continued running taking note that the redead still wasn't down for good. In one swift movement he leaped forward and his right foot connected with the back of the redead's head. Link grabbed his sword's handle as he jumped onto the redead's head plunging it face first into a pool of flames. Then as swiftly as he had jumped on the redead's head he jumped off while wrenching the sword free.

Link continued running; ignoring the dying wails of the redead, and pushing himself even harder to catch up with the damn ghost. He followed the ghost relentlessly dodging flames here and there, never letting it out of his sight. Finally they entered a room with a massive hole in the middle. Link came to a sudden stop getting much more of a look than he needed down the hole. Danpe continued floating up toward an exit at the top, and it had a heavy looking stone slab above it. Link looked for a way across the pit and noticed a small path along the left wall that was slightly illuminated by the lantern of Danpe.

Link sprinted up the path toward Danpe, who had just reached the door. Link wasn't even halfway up when he heard the door begin to slide down at an astonishingly slow rate. It was as if it was mocking him; going slow enough so that he would come close but not make it. The scraping of the stone against the wall was already starting to get to him, and was closing down over his hope.

Once again Link became even more infuriated and pushed himself harder. His veins felt as if acid flowed through them, and they were beginning to go numb. His lungs burned from all the running and his throat ached from the lack of water. Still he pushed himself harder and faster realizing it would be the end if he didn't make it through. As he reached the platform the door was on less than a foot of space remained for him to squeeze through. He ran to the door dropped to his stomach and tossed his shield to the other side, and began to crawl through. He squeezed through just in time before his body would have been crushed, because it fell suddenly with the last six inches.

Link stood up heaving and sweating all over and soon knelt down to catch his breath. He looked at Danpe square in the eyes; the man's spirit had nowhere else to go. He would pass on here, very soon, unless he thought of a damn good excuse for that chase.

"Well boy, it looks like you got me. I can't go beyond this point, so here take this hookshot you have earned it." He said as if nothing had happened.

"You're gonna die for this you bastard. Making me go through this wild goose chase, because you don't like people." Link replied angrily.

"As I recall you invaded my grave and put sword to my throat."

"Funny, you said the sword couldn't hurt you, so I figured you didn't mind. Anyways what did you need the hookshot for anyways?"

Danpe sighed and closed his eyes before replying, "I just didn't like you boy. I never needed the hookshot I just didn't want you to have, but now I'm going to pass on anyways." Danpe opened his eyes too look at Link, but was surprised to see him missing.

"I never liked you either!" Link yelled at the ghostly man. As he descended from his jump he slashed the ghost vertically in half.

The reaction was the same as if he had slashed a monster. A moment of surprise, anger, and resentment in the eyes. Followed by a pained scream. Blue smoke was flowing freely from the gash and showed no signs of stopping. "That was for trying to kill me in those tunnels." Danpe had barely acknowledged Link and continued to scream in pain as Link approached him. With a blindingly quick upward thrust he impaled Danpe threw the chin with the blade coming out the top of his head. "And that was for wasting my time." The spirit dissipated completely afterwards followed by a loud clank as something fell to the ground.

Link retrieved the hookshot and studied it quickly, eyeing the sharp end it had and what appeared to be the trigger in the hand grip. With a little experimentation in the area he got the feel for the distance and how it functioned. Now he just needed to get the hell out of the place he thought.

Finally finding his way out he lumbered through the insides of the windmill ignoring the insane glare of the man with the music box. Fatigue had finally kicked in and Link barely made it outside before he collapsed against a wall.

It was some time before someone walked by and acknowledged him, and offered some help.

"Stranger are you all right? It is rather late to be roaming around tonight." Said a soothing voice.

Link couldn't respond though he could feel his eyes growing heavier and got a brief glimpse of a familiar red head before everything went black.

"Hey, listen! Hey, listen! Hey, listen!"

"Aahhhhhh!" Link screamed as he awoke.

"What is wrong with you sleepy head?" replied a startled Navi.

"Oh goddesses. Nothing. I just had this horrible dream that you were completely useless and drove me insane by repeating everything I already knew."

"Why did I ask?" replied an annoyed Navi.

"Hey, where are we anyways?"

"We are at Anju's house. She found you right as you passed out and brought you here. I guess all that running throughout the day finally caught up with you. You must have been beat though, because you have been out for a whole day."

"I'll have to thank her later, but right now we've wasted enough time. We need to get to the forest and rescue everyone."

"Not so fast. You haven't healed fully and I won't let you leave on an empty stomach." Said a cheerful and lively voice.

In through a kitchen door walked a beautiful woman with fiery red hair, and deep blue eyes, much like Link's. What made her even more attractive to Link was the plate piled with food she was holding. Link suddenly became torn between his duty and his stomach, but came to the quick realization that he couldn't perform his duty on an empty stomach. In a flash he grabbed the plate and began devouring everything on it at a rate that only he could do.

Anju and Navi were huddled in the corner watching as Link inhaled the food at a frightening pace.

"Oh crap I hope you have more food Anju, because if you don't were next." Said a frightened Navi.

"I do, there is plenty more in the kitchen, but I'm afraid to move because he might eat me instead. He is kind of cute though when he tears the meat with his teeth like that." Said and equally frightened Anju.

Link's sharp ears had perked up at hearing about a source of more food, and headed to the kitchen. What happened in the kitchen was unspeakable as Link ate like an animal. Growls could be heard coming from the kitchen and the horrible ravaging of Anju's meal.

Finally after the noise died down a little Navi and Anju cautiously entered the kitchen. "Link?" whispered a worried Anju. "We heard growling are you alright?"

"That was my stomach actually and I've never felt better. Thanks for the meal Anju." Replied Link with a huge grin across his face.

"Well glad to see the danger has passed. Just so you know I filled Anju in on everything that has happened while you were out." Navi interjected.

"Okay well we'll be on our way then. We got a lot of work to do."

"Hold it Link do you even remember me?" Anju said while pushing him back down in the chair.

Link's face looked back at her blankly as he tried to recall. Finally after a minute he smiled and said, "Nope".

Anju sighed and averted her gaze to the floor. "Do cuccoos ring a bell, Link?" she asked.

Link's eyes widened as it came flooding back to him. Chasing cuccoos down for her, and then becoming curious and abusing the damn things. Finally a swarm came and he had to take refuge in Anju's house for a whole day.

Link looked her in the eyes and they said it all for her. Looking her over he realized that she had discarded the dress she had in the past, and only wore the red vest with nothing underneath. Also she was wearing some brown hunting pants with a make shift belt.

"There we go Link, you remember now don't you? Well I didn't forget you after all these years, so imagine my surprise when I find you passing out and you're carrying an even bigger and sharper sword." She said with emphasis on the last part of the sentence.

"I'm sorry I forgot about you Anju, but I haven't really had time to sit down and reminisce about the past lately." Link said as he stood and walked to the bed he woke up in.

He sat down on it and watched as Anju walked to him from the kitchen with a lustful gleam in her eyes. He looked through the window right behind her and noticed the last rays of the sun fading away.

"Well Link I'm hurt that you would forget me, so now I'm going to make sure you can never forget me."

"What? How?"

Link had just finished his question when Anju straddled Link's lap and pulled him into a deep kiss. He felt her maneuver her tongue into his own mouth and explore it. Link having no idea what was happening sat stock still not daring to move. Soon the he began to relax and enjoy sensations he was getting. Anju pulled away though almost as soon as he began to fight back with his tongue though earning an irritated grunt from Link.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!" yelled Navi. She looked from Link to Anju who each seemed to be in there own little world. "Link, snap out of it you damn horn dog!" Link completely ignored Navi not even acknowledging her presence. He had his eyes locked on Anju unwilling to let her hypnotic figure escape his sight. "Why are you doing this anyways Anju? Have some damn decency for crying out loud he has the mind of a ten year old."

Navi told her in vain.

"My fiancée, Kafei, was the only man who had me, and he was killed in the siege on the castle while getting me out. Since then I have become withdrawn and I haven't opened up to anyone. No one was anywhere near as pure and innocent as Kafei; he even liked those damn cuccoos. I was once pure and innocent once like him, but this living hell can get to anyone. When I stumbled across you and Link the other night though, and you told me the story of what happened. I realized he is damn close second to Kafei, and I want to feel that innocence and purity inside me again." She replied.

"That is so fucked up." Navi said casually.

She looked at Link once more who hadn't heard a word of what she said, and then back at Anju who had an insane hunger in her eyes. She advanced toward Link dead set on satisfying her craving for contact and lust. Link continued looking at her still immobile and so far gone that he wouldn't come back till Anju finished with him. Navi sighed defeated and disgusted at the same time. She couldn't stop them. She watched the bounce as Anju came to a stop, and then she turned away as she removed the vest and let it fall to the floor.

Navi flew into the kitchen and was quickly followed by the moans of Link and Anju. She couldn't leave Link there alone as much as she wanted too, but she couldn't stand to watch. She just sat on the kitchen table trying to block out the moans, grunts, and obscenities they yelled. Eventually she fell asleep, but even her dreams weren't free of the images as Link and a woman whose image was wrapped in shadows were entangled.

The next morning she woke and ate alone in silence and then flew out the house. She wandered around the village until the sun had almost reached its peak in the sky, and Link finally left Anju's house.

Navi flew over to Link and they stared at each other as if they were total strangers meeting for the first time. Finally Navi perched herself on Link's hat and they left toward Kokiri forest without another word.

Link was running through the fields of Hyrule toward the forest, but his thoughts were elsewhere. He knew what had happened between him and Anju was supposed to be special, but it felt far from that. He couldn't understand what had happened and what had compelled him to do what he did, but it must have been the wrong thing since he couldn't look Navi in the eye, and she wouldn't talk to him. Eventually though he got up the nerve to apologize at the least, he wasn't sure what for but it felt like the right thing to do. "Navi?" he began. "I'm sorry about what happened. I don't really know what I did, but I couldn't stop myself."

For a while Navi didn't answer and just stared off into the sky with vacant eyes. "I forgive you, Link. It's not exactly something you knew about anyways, so I'll let it slide this time, but you'll are both whores now." She said in a steady controlled voice.

"What's a whore?" asked a confused Link.

"Don't worry about it I was just kidding. I still have to talk to you about last night though." She said in the same tone.

For the rest of the trip to the forest Navi explained the birds and the bees to Link, and what he had missed out on while he was ogling Anju.

Finally as sunset was fading away into the nights embrace a very enlightened, proud, and slightly regretful Link arrived at the entrance to the forest.


End file.
